


Dancing To The Heart Of The Problem (A DanceTale AU ((Because we need more fics of this)) )

by WhenWeNextMeetMyFriends



Series: Dancing to the heart of the problem: a dancetale au [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Basic plot is first chapter, Basically bad past brought up, Dancetale, Other, Sorry it's a crap summary I may change it some other time, Warning: Dark mentions, We need more Dancetale fics, You is le reader, nothing too bad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-27
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-12 12:49:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 16,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9072394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhenWeNextMeetMyFriends/pseuds/WhenWeNextMeetMyFriends
Summary: All you had known for the past few years is how to survive. You never truly learned how to live. Then you found them.





	1. Backstory

You hardly remembered stability. The last time your life was quote unquote ‘stable’ was right before your mom died. You were about 5 then, and now you’re nearly 19. Ever since then, your father and your entire life had gone downhill.

All that had mattered to you then was protecting your sibling. Your younger sibling Frisk, who was barely a year old when your mom left. They were all you had to protect. Everything else was replaceable.

So of course you were downright distraught when they vanished one night without a trace. You’d searched for days and days on end, with no sign of them… they were gone.

It was hardly a month later when monsters were freed. You were 14, with an unstable life, your only joy in life missing, and you basically lived on your own, making money in the park playing guitar and singing for people.

You would go to the park every day at 3pm, and leave at 5pm with around $100 in tips average. Some days you got maybe $10, others was nearing $200. It hardly paid for your next meal, and you saved every bit of spare change.

By the time you were 18, you could leave the shithole your father had dug for you and move to Ebott Town, the most welcoming place in the world. They knew adversity and poverty… the monsters had dealt with it ever since they came to the surface.  
  
So you left. You left the place you barely could call home, and moved out of town. A small 2-room apartment with only a living room and a bathroom meant you slept on the couch every night, as it was all you could afford. That is where this story picks up, on a day much like the others. You were alone in a world where no one cared.


	2. Rediscovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You had gone back to singing at the park. It wasn't so much a job per say as it was a passion. You did it because you enjoyed it and the reactions that came with it, along with needing the money from tips. Then... you saw them.

You sat down on the park bench and saw your usual crowd gather around, eagerly awaiting a song. You grinned, ignoring the crowd for a bit, and dug out your guitar.

You stroked the familiar wooden instrument, your mother’s name carved into the edges. A small tear of nostalgia was in the corner of your eye, quickly wiped away by your hand.

You glanced back up to the crowd, smiling once more. In the background, you failed to notice a tall skeleton walk over with his shorter brother, both interested in this new human come to town.

“You all ready?” You questioned, and a few shouts came in reply. You grinned, and strummed your strings to make sure they were in tune for the most part. You hummed a quick note, and began to play.

_/She tells me love is like a train_

_And she keeps falling off again_

_I guess she’s sick of being left behind/_

You knew you could be out of pitch when singing, but you didn’t care. Singing felt right to you, as right as anything could.

_/She says this story’s all the same_

_so full of circumstance and shame_

_I guess she’s sick of watching life pass by/_

A few monsters walk by, dropping some gold in your guitar case. You nod to them, thanking them without pausing your song.

_/I said What keeps you going?_

_What keeps you waking up?_

_She just smiles and shrugs her shoulders and says,_

_You know, it’s not so tough./_

This song was practically made for your life. You had written it of course. It was supposed to show others that maybe life wasn’t so bad. You stood from the bench, tapping your foot as you sang.

_/‘Cause if there’s one thing in life that I’ve learned so far_

_its that we’re all a little stronger than we think we are_

and you bend a little farther

_or you can stay just how you are_

_just how you are./_

And you had changed. You were still true to yourself, but you knew something deep inside you had changed. You had grown up too fast, known the world’s pain with barely any time to be innocent. You could recall too many days you and Frisk had gone hungry because your father had neglected buying food in favor of alcohol.

_/She says There must be more than this_

_I work two jobs to feed two kids_

This might have been a reference to you. You had worked a few odd jobs for as long as you could remember, mowing lawns and raking leaves, just to get a few bucks to buy your sibling something nice. They had always wanted a tutu... it was what you were saving for when they vanished. They wanted to be a ballet dancer... you shook the memory out of your head and smiled to the crowd, singing still.

_/and it’s been two months since he left without goodbye_

_I’ve still got bills to pay_

_the world feels heavier every day_

_it’s only getting harder for me just to try/_

You had nearly given up more than once. It was all too much… but you kept pushing. For Frisk. You didn't know what else you could do. There was nothing on your mind half the time other than your sibling, who would be nearly 15 by now. You wondered how much they had grown.

_/I said What keeps you going?_

_What keeps you waking up?_

_She just smiles and shrugs her shoulders and says,_

_You know, it’s not so tough./_

You suppose it could have been worse. You mean, you survived somehow, and Frisk was okay before they vanished…

_/’Cause if there’s one thing in life that I’ve learned so far_

_its that we’re all a little stronger than we think we are_

_and you bend a little farther_

_or you can stay just how you are_

_just how you are./_

Now was a small musical break, and you jammed out a bit while more monsters dropped money into your case. Two skeletons, the ones mentioned before, moved to the front of the crowd and began to dance. You grinned, loving the way their varying dance styles intertwined with the odd music and each other. You noted a taller skeleton wearing a crisp white shirt and black pants dancing some form of a latin dance, while the other skelly had a blue hoodie with the hoodie covering his head, and he danced hip-hop. It was magical, in a way.

_/She said I’m trying to have faith_

_but even food has lost its taste_

_my greatest fear is I’ll be left here all alone/_

You were all alone for too long. You were hurt for too long while Frisk was gone… you still had hope of finding them one day. But for now, you would continue doing what you could to survive, and search once you were stable again.

_/She said I miss them every day_

_all I can do is pray their safe reliving memories_

_oh we used to call this home/_

You saw the skeletons come together for a partner dance, and a few other various monsters were dancing as well, a bunch more gold entering your case.

_/she said Sammy I need something_

_just for once in my life_

_I need someone else to tell me everything will be alright/_

All you ever wanted was someone to be there for you. Someone who could hold you in their arms and whisper that it would all be okay. But there was only you…

_/I said There’s one thing in life_

_that I’ve learned so far_

_its that we’re all a little stronger than we think we are_

_And you can bend a little farther_

_but just remember who you are_

_who you are/_

You finished the song, and the crowd clapped wildly. A glance in your case showed enough food for dinner and a bit extra to go into rent for next month. You pulled the money out into your black sweater pockets, and slid your guitar inside to close it up.

"that was some decent singing human." You jumped slightly and turned to the voice to see the hooded skeleton from before. He was smiling, although you didn't understand how a skeleton  _could_ smile, and nodded.

"Thanks. I worked hard on that song." The skeleton held out his hand, and you reached out yours only to receive a bit of gold. You grinned, and slid it into your pocket. "Thank you so much."

"not a problem. what's your name kiddo?" You sighed, and took a seat on the bench, the skeleton sitting next to you. "also, what brings you to this town?"

"Y/N, and mainly... a need to get away." You didn't go into detail as this was a complete stranger, and instead leaned back on the bench. "What brings you to this park today?"

"younger brother Papyrus wanted to see your show. apparently he's heard a bit from our neighbors, and wanted to see it for himself." You nodded with understanding, doing a bit of math to connect the dots between this skeleton and the other one. He must be the brother Papyrus.

You looked up to the sky to see the sun nearly at the top of the sky. It was just setting slightly, meaning it was probably 3:30. You still had a while before you needed to head back, might as well play something else.

"BROTHER, I FOUND THE HUMAN!" You and the skeleton glanced up to see the taller one from before, Papyrus, running over with a human on his shoulders. A quick glance at their face had you dropping your guitar on the bench and standing.

"heya Paps, Frisk." Papyrus dropped the human, who seemed about 14, and you ran over. You hugged them close, and they seemed to hug back after a moment's hesitation.

"Frisk... y-you're okay..." You held them close, and felt tears well up. 

Their soft voice pierced the air, sounding unused for a while. "I'm fine Y/N, don't smother me."

You laughed, letting them go to see a bright smile on their face. Suddenly, you feel a tug in your chest and look down to see a F/C heart surrounded in an aura of blue. You're jerked up into the air, and squirm around.

"H-Hey, put me down!" You demand, looking down to see the skeleton you were talking to. His eyes were black, except the left one had a blue and yellow flame coming out of it. His grin looked sinister, and he chuckled.

"you really thing i'm gonna put you down? after what you did to Frisk?" You frowned, confused, and were about to question him when you flew through the air. You crashed into the top of a tree, and groaned. Tree branches hurt like  **hell**.

"Ow, what the-" You fell out of the tree, a strangled gasp escaping your mouth, and were about to hit the ground when the tall skeleton ran over and caught you.

"SANS! WHY DID YOU ATTACK THE HUMAN?" Papyrus shouted, helping you back onto your feet. You winced, feeling your chest flare up with pain. probably a broken rib or two.

'Sans, stop!' You looked to Frisk to see them signing frantically at the skeleton. You hadn't seen it for a while, so most of it just kinda flashed by. You caught a few words, suck as dad and mom and okay, but other than that you had trouble keeping up.

"...fine." The shorter skeleton lowered his arm, and you realized what he probably thought.

"Let me guess... Frisk told you guys about our family, but never went into detail?" The skeletons nodded, and Frisk looked down at the ground, a light blush on their face. You giggled, walking over and slinging an arm over their shoulders with only a slight hiss of pain.

"Well... I suppose we have a lot to talk about. Wanna head over to my place?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, first off thank you guys so much for the overwhelming support on this so far. I absolutely love you all, and can't wait to continue writing for you. Continue to suggest ideas down below, and maybe even some ideas for one-off chapters/adventures, such as everyone going to the mall. Oh, I might write that at some point.   
> Anyways, comment ideas and I'll reply to most everyone who comments. See you next chapter! Sky, out


	3. Repeats of the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You bring the skeletons + Frisk to your place to have a chat

The 3 others were squeezed onto your small couch while you were sent to the floor. You were okay with it. They probably deserved the couch more than you, plus it was common courtesy. 

"so. you gonna explain anything about why the kid never mentioned you?" Sans queried, and you let out a sigh. You closed your eyes quickly to compose yourself, trying to ignore the crowded main room you were all squeezed into.

"It all started when we were young. Frisk was barely a year old... I was 5. Mom had gotten really sick and she... died," It hurt to talk about her, but you knew at some time this would all have to be explained anyways. Frisk had never been much of a talker unless it was to you, so you were on your own for the story. "Dad... he started making bad choices. He would often drink and do drugs... he wasn't a good man after mom left. Worst of all, he... he blamed Frisk for her death. If they hadn't been born, she would've lived he would always say.

"I had to grow up quick. By the time I was 7, I was basically raising Frisk on money from neighbors mowing lawns and doing whatever other jobs I could find. I didn't have much of a childhood, but I'd be damned if Frisk didn't get one. I was the one most nights buying us food and making sure Frisk was well fed while our dad was out clubbing or hooking up with random hookers on the sides of the roads.

"This went on for nearly 10 years. I would care for Frisk, make sure they were okay and able to be a kid, and dad was only around to torment our daily lives. Then... comes Frisk's 10th birthday. They day they ran away."

You could tell Frisk wanted you to avoid this, but you stared at them, recalling the utter sense of... betrayal you had felt to know they were gone. "I had been saving every penny for months, all to get the one thing Frisk wanted. I would bring my mom's guitar to parks and sing, work as a bagger at grocery stores, any job a 14 year old could have, I'd work it. And finally... I managed to get it. A tutu, a nice pretty pink one for them. I had it wrapped, and I placed a big bow on it, then I went to wait for them at school.

"I waited for hours outside of that school. They... never showed up. Eventually, I ventured in and asked their teacher, Mrs. Meridith, where they went. She said they never showed up today... that's when I started to panic. They could be anywhere, and I specifically remember dropping them off at school that morning.

"I searched... for months. Dad got worse, started becoming more... violent. And I was forced to stay there, saving everything in the hopes that Frisk would return. Maybe they were just lost and scared... but nobody came. No one dropped by to say anything. Monsters were freed, but I barely noticed while searching for them.

"I never gave up... not really. I just knew that someday... I'd see you again. And I guess today is that day." Your voice cracked at the end, and you hurried to brush the tears out of your eyes. "I moved here... thinking maybe I could see you... maybe you were one of those kids that fell and never came back... but you did come back."

You were engulfed in a hug by Frisk, whose tears you could feel dampening your shirt where your shoulder was. You sniffled, and hugged them close as well.

"NYEH... HUMAN, I AM SO SORRY!" You looked up to see Papyrus crying orange, glowing tears after your story. The hooded figure that was Sans had curled in on himself, hiding under his hood, but you could see a faint blue glow that you recognized from his magic he used on you earlier. You sighed, holding your younger sibling close, missing the feeling of them in your arms.

"hey kid... i've never seen a soul like yours before." Frisk shifted around in your lap so you could both face Sans, and he continued speaking. "i mean, i've seen quite the variety, and they're normally the base 7 colors; red, orange, yellow, green, light blue, dark blue, and purple. but yours is some weird gray color."

"Oh... I've done some research on what you monsters classify souls as as well." You sat up straighter, smiling a bit. "I mean, I wanted to know more about monsters before I came here, and researching your beliefs was so much fun. I believe you're referring to the main personality traits you classify into colors, only visible by you monsters. In response to that... I honestly have no idea why my soul isn't one of those colors."

"MAYBE IT'S A NEW TRAIT?" Papyrus leaned in, and you looked down to see the faint glow of your soul being drawn out for inspection as well. Even Frisk seemed interested, something you never thought you'd see before. "LIGHT GRAY... I'VE NEVER SEEN IT."

'It looks awesome!' This time, while Frisk signed, you could follow along easier. You were slowly easing back into Frisk's realm of muteness, where they could selectively speak when they wished, but they mostly stuck to ASL. 'Maybe we can have Alphys study it?'

"sounds like a good idea kiddo. but... i think it should wait until tomorrow. Toriel is gonna kill us if we don't get you back home soon. so we better move, 'else we're boned." You paused a moment, processing it with the others, before bursting into laughter. 

"GOD BROTHER, WHY MUST YOU DO THIS TO ME?" Papyrus groaned, and you could feel Frisk shaking with silent laughter. You were giggling, and even Sans seemed to brighten up after that depressing story.

"tibia honest, that was a humerous pun bro, i don't see why you can't accept my punny jokes." You groaned a bit, now the jokes were just forced. You didn't like forced puns, but casual ones were the kind you loved.

'Sans. It's time to stop. Mom's making pie, we gotta hurry!' Frisk leapt to their feet, more graceful than you'd ever seen them. You noticed around their waist was a soft pink tutu, and a thought hit you.

"Wait one moment, I have something I need to grab." You dashed off to your room and dug around. Where is it... there! You grabbed the box and ran back out, handing the crudely wrapped present to Frisk.

"Well I mean... I missed out on a lot of birthdays while we were young. Maybe this can make up for it?" They frowned, confused, and took the box. Upon opening it, they saw a slightly dusty tutu. It was glittery, and the material seemed sturdy. A hand flew to their mouth as they looked up at you.

"Y/N..." Their voice, now only heard twice by you today, was cracking and sounded wistful. "It's... beautiful."

"well c'mon, you've gotta try it on kiddo..." Frisk eagerly pulled off their tutu, replacing the older one with their new one. They took a twirl, and it flowed in the air, making them look more wonderful than you ever could.

"WOWIE HUMAN, YOU LOOK STUNNING!" Papyrus praised Frisk some more, and they laughed and spun and did a few dance moves to show off. 

"well kid... it's time to go. let's make like a banana and split."

There were crickets, and you could practically see Papyrus' anger. Sans sighed, and headed to the door, his brother and Frisk following, when Frisk tugged on Sans' sleeve.

"hmm? what's up bucko?" Frisk signed some things you couldn't see, as their back was turned. Sans' eyes darkened, and he looked ready to refuse. You wondered what was going on... but finally.

"fine... they can come over for dinner i s'pose."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I wrote another chapter today, wowie look at me being all productive like! Anyways, please comment ideas you'd like to see at the dinner with Toriel and... theories on what your soul trait could be? I'm excited to hear your theories.  
> ~Skylar


	4. Table for the Traitor please

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You spend the evening with Frisk and co! But... things happen, leaving you asking a lot of questions by the end of the night.

"Wait... what?" You were.. confused to say the least. Just a bit ago this skeleton you were pretty sure wanted you dead... but now he was inviting you to dinner? No way were you gonna really trust this.

"THAT IS A BRILLIANT IDEA FRISK! HUMAN, YOU MUST COME TO DINNER SO YOU MIGHT MEET EVERYONE!" Papyrus grinned with glee. Seriously, you had no idea how skeletons could show facial expressions... they just  _did_.

"yeah. kid here wants you over... why not be our  **guest**?" You shivered at the glare Sans shot you. You were near positive he didn't trust you yet... and in all honesty you didn't trust him much either. If Frisk weren't around, you'd probably be dead. That conversation on the bench felt years away as a new rift of distrust was created.

Yet somehow, here you were, sat at a table with more food than you could comprehend in front of you, Frisk on your right and Sans on your left. Across from you 3 were the other residents of this house, Papyrus, Dr. Alphys, who was a little yellow dinosaur, and Undyne, a very strong fish lady. Sitting at the head was Miss Toriel, as you'd taken to calling here while Frisk referred to her as mom.

"Oh Y/N, it's so wonderful to meet some of Frisk's family! They never mentioned they had such a wonderful older sibling!" You blushed lightly at her compliment, looking down. She really did remind you of mom, so caring and welcoming.

' **Yeah. Mom's pretty great, isn't she**?' You looked around a bit, wondering where the voice came from, much to the confusion of the others.

"Something the matter dear?" Miss Toriel questioned. You shook your head, smiling at her reassuringly.

"Oh no ma'am, just a bit... jumpy is all." You laughed it off nervously, grabbing some pie out of a tray to fill your mouth with. The taste was wonderful, a combination of cinnamon and butterscotch. You could faintly remember your mom making you pie for dessert, and you and dad would sit at the table, both eagerly bouncing for a chance to dig in. The memory brought a slight tear to your eye, which you hurriedly brushed away. 

' **Hey y/n, don't stress this much. Excuse yourself to the bathroom for a moment, I need ta ask you things.** '

You nodded a bit, and scooted your chair away from the table. "I'm so sorry, I must use the bathroom quick. I'll hardly be a moment." You rushed away from the table, and headed into the bathroom. Unbeknownst to you, the darkened eyes of a short skeleton had followed your trip, and after a moment, he snuck away as well, curious as to what was going on with you.

Once inside the bathroom, you stared into the mirror at your normal disheveled appearance. Choppy h/c hair, dark bags under your e/c eyes, and a very thin figure from a long time of malnutrition and hunger. In the back of the mirror's reflection, next to the bathtub, a red glow materialized. It formed into a child, about the same age as Frisk, and with the near same appearance as well. You jumped and turned, but saw nothing.

' **Don't worry your socks off. I'm just in your head... I think.** ' The child spoke, their red form wavering a bit in the reflection.

"Wh-who are you?" You whispered, trying to keep it down so as to not alert anyone. Yet, from outside the bathroom, someone was seeing the reflection in the mirror, a look of anger in his single glowing blue eye.

' **You can speak to me through your thoughts you know. Also... you can call me Chara. Chara Dreemurr.** '

'How... what's going on?'

' **Look, if I knew I'd tell you, but I don't. I just was torn from Frisk and somehow attached to you the moment Sans attacked you. I don't know what's happening, and honestly, I'm scared.** '

'Wait... you were haunting Frisk?' Okay, you would be lying if you said you weren't scared at all, but you were. You didn't understand any of this, but somehow, you knew you couldn't get any answers by panicking.

' **It's a long story I can tell you some other time. For now, head to the table and continue as if nothing happened.** ' You nodded, and flushed the toilet in pretense. You ran your hands under the sink water, and walked out the door to see the empty hallway. Hurriedly, you took your place back at the table, and attempted to hide your curiosity and fear.

"Hey human!" Undyne spoke up, wiping her mouth clear. 

"Yes Undyne?" You questioned, setting your fork down. The food in this house was heavenly, but somehow you felt a bit sick. You didn't quite understand what was going on, but you didn't know who to ask.

"I wanna see your style. Dance battle with me!" Your blood ran cold.  _Shit._ You didn't dance, you sang. You were never much of a fighter either, but you knew saying no would be disrespectful.

' **Don't worry kid, I'll help you through this.** ' You nodded, and stood from the table.

"I accept your challenge Undyne. Just... try not to kill me?"  _Heavens knows I don't need another monster wanting me dead_ you thought, a quick glance to the shorter skeleton showed his cool nonchalance about you. You could just tell he was trying to hide something.

"Alright punk, let's do this!" Undyne grabbed your arm, and dragged you to the main room. She bowed, and held out her hand.

' **Take her hand, and be ready to move!** ' Chara ordered. You did as they asked, bowing and taking Undyne's hand before ducking. Over your head flew a dulled spear, which thudded and fell against the wall behind you. You gulped, and pulled away from the fish as a song started, pulsing from seemingly nowhere.

The song was fierce and filled you with energy. Energy enough to dodge Undyne's attacks with surprising grace. You watched her dance, doing more jazzercise than actual dancing. You could see her moving from push-ups to squats and stuff like that that somehow flowed pretty well into a dance.

Meanwhile you were doing... a weird kind-of hip-hop style of dance. You didn't question it much as the room flooded with an eerie green light, most likely Undyne's magic. You had never been in a dance battle, and didn't know how it worked too well, so you just did your best to avoid Undyne's attacks and not pass out from exhaustion.

' **The battle will only end when one falls unconscious or messes up on a dance step. You'll probably be option 2.** ' 

'Wow, thanks for the confidence.' You thought, and continued doing your best to flow from step to step. The room filled with a light gray mixing with the green, from your soul you assumed.

"N-No way!" Alphys muttered, pulling out a notebook. You continued dancing as Alphys muttered to herself, searching for the right entry in the notebook full of notes written in a strange dialect, able to be read by only a few select people.

Unfortunately, you eventually stumbled and fell to the floor. You landed on your back, panting, and Undyne chuckled from above.

"Wow human, you're not bad! I may have to battle you again some other time!" She held out one scaly blue hand, and you took it, pulling yourself to your feet. A quick glance at the time had you cursing and grabbing your (color) jacket.

"I should really be... heading home." You said, mostly out of breath. "Thank you so much for the food Miss Toriel. And Frisk..."

You hugged them close, running a hand through their brown hair. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

They nodded, pulling away to sign 'Meet at the dance studio down the road.' You nodded, and headed out the door, strolling to your apartment. You were tired, but a grin was on your face as you partially skipped down the roads.

' **You're particularly chipper tonight** ' Chara mused, probably floating somewhere nearby. As no one was on the roads with you, you decided to speak aloud.

"I got to see my sibling again, the one I haven't see for nearly 5 years. Don't ruin my mood." Chara laughed as you reached the bottom floor of your apartment building. You dashed up the stairs, and unlocked your front door. Whistling a small tune to yourself, you threw your coat and keys on a table, heading to one side of your main room to get something out of your fridge, when a voice froze you in place.

"hey **bucko** , i think you and  _i_ need to have a  ** _talk_** __."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Yes, I left you on a cliffhanger, and it will probably carry over into tomorrow. Thank you all so much for your comments, and remember to keep guessing on what reader's soul color means. The answer may surprise you, as it's probably not gonna please many of you. I dunno, you'll have to see a bit more of your character to really understand I suppose.  
> Anyways, enjoy the chapter and please let me know if there's a character you wanna see more... or maybe an idea for a fun non-canon sequel~esque thing?  
> ~Skylar


	5. A friendly... chat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans and Y/N have a chat, Chara explains things, and fandoms.

"hey **bucko** , i think you and  _i_ need to have a  ** _talk_**." 

' **Y/N... be on your toes. I have a bad feeling about this...** ' You nodded a bit, and turned to face the smaller skeleton. His eyesockets were nearly pitch black, and he looked  _pissed_. 

"Sans... is something wrong?" You questioned, straightening up. Well, obviously something is wrong if he's somehow  _in your apartment_ and giving you a death glare. 

"you could say that. someone is about to be  _boned,_ not to sound too  _humerous_." You bit your lower lip, watching him warily while subtly shifting away.

"What are you here for?" You already knew the answer somehow. It was obvious, something to do with either Chara or your family before. Even thought you had proven yourself innocent in hurting Frisk, you knew he wouldn't trust you for a while yet. You were willing to work for that at least... if he gave you a reason, you'd probably believe it.

"i'm here for my  _buddy_ , y'know? the one that was a  **dirty brother killer**."

Chara was terrified. You could feel it, sense their fear in the air rippling like static. ' **How does he remember? No one should be able to remember that other than me and Frisk!** ' 

Choosing not to question it, you looked away from the skeleton, shaking in your boots. "I don't know what you're talking about, and even if I did, I don't think the one you're talking about is here."

Before you could react, you were thrown back into a wall. You quickly blinked, and Sans was in my face, eyesocket glowing a sharp blue color. "listen,  **bucko** , just because i don't see them now doesn't meant they're not listening. so this is how it's gonna go about."

You gulped, struggling to move, but as your soul was pinned, you were pinned as well. He grinned, lacking any form of sympathy, and continued to speak. "you're going to stay away from the kid, and all my friends. if i see you trying to talk with Frisk or anyone else... **you're gonna have a bad time**."

Your soul was released, and you dropped to the floor. Looking up for the skeleton revealed... he was gone. A relieved sigh escaped your mouth, and you sat back against the wall.

' **I... I'm so sorry Y/N...** ' You waved off Chara's apologies, a small smile on your face.

"Don't worry kid... it'll be okay." You may not know much about this ghost child, but you did know a few things from that encounter. 1., The kid messed up somewhere and did a bad that made Sans mad. 2., They wanted to fix it all, even if it meant working for a long time. And 3., If they wanted that redemption, you had to help them in any way they required. Even if that meant losing the sibling you just found after years of separation. You were reluctant but... Sans' threat scared you. Whatever he meant by a bad time, you didn't want it.

So you decided to avoid Frisk, to protect both you and Chara. That worked for...about 3 days. And fuck were those the longest days of your life, even longer than the years you missed Frisk.

The first day was probably the worst. You didn't even go to the park in case Frisk would be there again. You stayed in your extremely cramped apartment, lying on the couch and binging some Sherlock and Dr. Who so Chara could experience 2 of your 3 favorite shows. Supernatural could come another time.

They were fascinated by some of the creatures in Dr. Who, and like you, they were distraught when Rose was left on the beach. Only after Tennant was over did you 2 start talking again.

' **Hey... don't you have any questions for me?** '

"Nope." You popped the P, and threw some more popcorn into your waiting mouth.

' **Not even why Sans hates me?** '

"Well I might be a little curious, but I bet it's a sensitive topic so I don't want answers unless you're willing to give them."

' **No, it's okay. It's been... long enough.** ' Chara took in a deep breath, and you paused your episode of Dr. Who to listen to them. ' **I was... the first human to fall into the Underground. I hated humanity, and wanted to escape it all. Somehow... I lived the hit to the ground, and the king's son Asriel found me.** '

You nodded a bit, understanding where they came from, and they continued. ' **Then... I was taken in by the monsters. They cared for me like humanity never did. It was nice... and I wanted to help them any way I could. So I planned... and came up with an idea for both revenge and assistance for my family.**

' **I poisoned myself, and died. Before I got so sick, I told Asriel my plan, thinking I could trust him to help me. He... he took my soul, and together we crossed the barrier. I carried my body to the human village I came from... and I was going to take 6 more souls from the humans. It was all we needed to break the barrier. But... Asriel fought against me. He stopped us from harming anyone, and we returned to the Underground to die. Our dust scattered across the flowers...** '

It hurt you to hear this, the utter pain in their voice. "I'm so sorry..."

' **I was dead... but then Frisk fell down. I was woken by their determination, and I was confused... until they killed their first monster. That was when I began to think monsters and humans didn't deserve to live on this earth... they were both cruel and cowardly. So I pushed Frisk to keep killing, gain more EXP, LV, HP... then I erased the world.**

' **Yet... they managed to bring it all back. They thought they could show me a different way, and wanted... wanted to redeem themself along with me. So they spared every monster, and eventually broke the barrier... and now, Sans remembers the way I was. I'm not like that anymore! I changed... I promise.** '

You couldn't believe Frisk had done something like that, but... Chara didn't seem like they were lying. The emotion in their voice showed they felt some form of remorse, and wanted to fix their mistakes.

"I'll help you, Chara. I mean... it's not like I have much a choice, now do I?"

' **Thank you... for everything.** ' You smiled, feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. Being nice to people who thought they didn't deserve it always did this to you, made you feel so happy inside. 

It made you happy enough that the next day you snuck out of your place to head to the store and pick up some ramen noodles and other cheap foods. Chara helped you shop, pointing out deals you nearly would've missed. You even managed to grab a few vegetables, and thus attempt to remain healthy.

The third day, however, was when things decided to fall apart for you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo guys. So this chapter took too long to write, and since I feel bad, I promise to have another chapter up today! Happy new years, btw. It's eve as of me writing this, and I'm heading to a party tonight to hang out with friends and maybe get a kiss from the boyf.  
> Also I've decided Pocky is the official food of writing fanfictions. Don't ask.  
> Comment below... I dunno, what kinda things you wanna see, either angsty or fluffy!  
> ~Skylar


	6. That could've gone better

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You meet someone at the park. Everything changes in an instant.

Today was day 3 of avoiding Frisk, aka the day everything went wrong for you. It started out okay, you getting as neat as you could in a nice shirt and some comfortable pants, Chara slightly mocking your lazy dressing abilities. You were in a pretty decent mood all things considered, so you decided to head out and go to the park to do some singing and playing your guitar for tips.

The one person you did not expect to be in your spot was Frisk. They looked tired, with their sweater frayed and dirty and their jeans torn. Yet, when they looked over to you, you could see the anger in their eyes. Shit, they're pissed! You hesitantly walked over, taking a seat next to them on the bench. You reasoned with yourself this wasn't your fault, you were just going to your normal bench and not attempting to talk with Frisk, Sans couldn't get mad at you for this... could he?

"Y/N, why are you avoiding me?" Frisk questioned, using their voice like they only did for you. You froze up, halfway through taking your guitar out of your case, and bit your tongue to hold back everything. 

"Did I do something wrong?" You looked over to see them tearing up and about to cry.  _Shit shit shit_. Your guitar case was closed and your arms flung around your younger sibling before you could process that Sans would probably murder you later.

"Of course not bud... it wasn't you, it could never be you." You pulled away and looked them in their shining wet eyes, feeling a buttload of regret. "I just... think you can do better than me right now."

"Why would you ever think that?" They asked, sounding offended. Shouldn't you be the offended one? "You're my big sibling, why could I ever do any better than you? Who could be better than you?"

"Your family, who can actually care for you. I hardly have a job, I didn't get a chance to go through all of high school... you can still have a life kid. I'm struggling, and was nearly homeless for a long time. You? You have a home, people that care for you that  _can_ care for you." You smiled, hugging them once more. This wasn't exactly the truth, but in a way it was true. They could have so much more without you leeching off of their better life they had made for themself.

"But I want you..." You bit your lip, about to cry at their statement. "You're my family Y/N, I missed you! Please... why did you really avoid me?"

You pulled away, looking down at them. "You... you wouldn't believe me..." The reason was so ridiculous, unbelievable, how could they ever think of you the same way if you told them.

' **They believe a lot of weird stuff,** ' Chara commented, speaking up after having been silent this whole encounter. ' **If you told them about me, they would say they already knew. They can see me y'know, kinda like you can in mirrors. I was around them a while after all...** '

Nodding, you gave in and told Frisk all about Sans and Chara and the threats... everything. You spilled it all, there in the park, and you didn't even care that Sans would be getting his revenge at some point because damn it if you had to spend any more time away from Frisk you'd rather die. You had lost them, your only family, for way too long, and it hurt knowing someone already wanted to tear you 2 apart.

When the explanation ended, Frisk looked... thoughtful, and slightly scary. They seemed mad, not like the mad with you, but a cold kind of anger. With a start, your arm was grabbed and you were pulled off the bench. You jumped, and felt yourself dragged along by the kid.

"Come on sibs, we've got a family to create!" With a giggle, you pulled away from Frisk to grab your guitar case before running after your younger sibling. You could already tell when they were set on something, nothing could change them. It was how they'd always been, and probably always be. So determined and stubborn.

You reached the monster house, and a feeling of dread rested on your chest as Frisk entered the door. You followed them only to see Sans lying on the couch. Your eyes met, and there was enough tension in the room you could cut it with a knife.

' _Alright. Sans, Y/N, you two are gonna make peace._ ' Frisk was signing once more, and turned to the shorter skeleton. ' _Sans, just because you don't trust Y/N doesn't mean that you get to decide they can't be in my life. They're the one who cared for me most of my life, and I don't wanna lose them again._ ' Then, Frisk turned to you. ' _Y/N, I know Sans was a bit mean to you when you first met-_ '

'Understatement of the year,' You thought, and Chara snickered.

' _-but that doesn't mean he's a bad guy. Give him a chance and he can kinda get under your skin._ ' Both you and the skeleton chuckled at the pun, which led to immediate awkward silence as you both realized this was a serious situation. ' _Now you're both gonna play nice! If I see you two being mean to each other, I'm gonna get mad!_ '

"Aye-aye cap'n!" You saluted, doing your favorite way of agreeing to something. You knew it always made Frisk laugh, and there they were, laughing at your dumb impression of a pirate. 

"i s'pose i could get  _hooked_ on that idea." You held back laughter, feeling the tension drop slightly.

"Pi-rate that pun a solid 6." You replied, hugging Frisk close. You leaned into their ear, still smiling. "Do you really think he'll give me a chance when you're not around?"

' _Mostly positive. I'd say 78% positive he'll be a bit more welcoming._ ' Those were okay odds, ones that you could make do with. You nodded, satisfied, and released the child. ' _Hey Sans, where are mom and Paps and everyone else?_ '

"oh, they went to the studio to dance. if you want we could... head over there." Sans stood from his position, and shot you a still cold glare. Great, he probably won't be lenient with you for a while.

' __ _Perfect! Come on Y/N, let's go!_ ' The kid grabbed your hand and dragged you outside, but you were still curiously watching the skeleton as the door swung shut behind you. You didn't need him to be kind to you as much as you needed him to not try and keep you from your sibling. You would never let that happen. Not again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AS I PROMISED! I got this second chapter out for you all today. Once again, if you have any ideas for future chapters, comment with your ideas down below! Thanks all, and have a lovely new years.  
> ~Skylar


	7. Hey look, I do have a soul!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adventures in the dance studio full of monsters

Upon entering the building labelled 'Miss Toriel's Dance Studio', you were amazed. It was... nicer than you'd originally had in mind.

Immediately from the entrance there was a desk, and hallways branching off into different rooms, even a floor upstairs. Currently, there was some monster with no arms at the reception desk that looked too much like a baby dino for your liking, but other than that the place seemed relatively empty.

"Oh, Frisk!" The kid called, and your sibling ran to the desk to greet their friends, "They're waiting for you in 2C. Sans popped in a moment ago and headed up there himself."

Frisk nodded, and headed for the stairs. You followed, as they expected, and passed by a few different groups. One was a girl learning to salsa dance while a man seemed very passionate about teaching her(*cough cough fun reference/cameo, first to guess gets a brownie point*), and the next room seemed to have a ballet dance. Frisk lingered at the window for this group, and you recognized the tutu they wore as the one you gave them. You smiled, happy that they really did enjoy the gift, and followed as they reluctantly moved on.

The next room you came to had some recognizable monsters within. Papyrus and Undyne seemed to be having a danceoff, and on the sidelines watching were Alphys Toriel, and Sans. They looked up as you and Frisk walked in, and gestured for you to watch out as you made your way to sit by them.

Watching Papyrus and Undyne dance was... breathtaking. Papyrus seemed like a latin dancer, mixing several different dances into one while gracefully avoiding Undyne's attacks. Undyne had her usual fighting style you recognized from your battle, and seemed super pumped to be dancing with someone actually on her level. Together, somehow their dances mixed and... actually looked amazing. You could definitely see their friendly chemistry in the way they danced around each other.

"Th-they're amazing, aren't they?" Alphys, whom you've never really spoken to, questioned.

"They are... I've never really seen monsters dance, so this is a magical experience," You admitted with wide eyes, hardly able to look away. 

"Y-yeah..." Alphys sounded as distant as you were, and a quick glance to your left showed her eyes were following Undyne's rigorous dance. You smiled to yourself, assuming Alphys totally had a crush, and watched as the dance battle finished with Papyrus landing on the ground, a blue spear pointed at his face. The room was still for a moment as the soul colors, orange and green, faded. Then came the applause, mainly from you and Frisk, who seemed as entranced as you are.

"HUMANS! YOU BOTH MADE IT!" Papyrus ran over and scooped both you and Frisk into a hug. "WHEN FRISK SAID YOU WERE IGNORING THEM I GREW REALLY SAD!"

"Aww, Paps..." You choked out from his extremely tight hug, lightly patting him on the back, "It's... all good... now."

"Yo Papyrus, put the poor human down! You're choking the little bas-thing." You could tell Undyne was about to swear, but Papyrus put you down anyways. Thank god Undyne caught herself, or else you would have to beat her up for swearing in front of Frisk.

"My child, we were... concerned, when Frisk was so worried about you," Toriel spoke, walking over, seeming as elegant as ever in her purple ballgown. "I'm glad you're here now, and just know we will all be here for you if you need it."

"Thank you ma'am," Now you were choking on tears for the concern this wonderful goat lady seemed to have for someone she'd just met. "Don't worry, I'm not leaving Frisk again."

You smiled warmly, and now understood why Frisk never came back to your father's place. They'd found a new family, one that could care for them and did. You may not like one certain skeleton all that much, but it seems Frisk had made themself a new home.

"Hey human, I gotta ask," Undyne took your seat next to Alphys, a blue beach towel around her neck now to catch the sweat dripping from her face after the intense dance battle with Papyrus, "I know that different souls for humans have different meanings, like Frisk here is determination or whatever. But I gotta ask... what does yours mean?"

"I don't believe I've seen a soul with that color either," Toriel admitted with a slight frown. "Even during the war between humans and monsters, there was no light gray. What is your soul?"

Before you could answer, explaining that you had no fucking idea, Alphys came in with an answer. "I-I've looked into my research notes g-gained from the previous r-royal scientist, and it seems h-he's seen one gray soul b-before." Alphys pulled out a notebook stuffed with notes. "These a-are from him. He said the o-only other light gray soul t-to exist was used to c-create the barrier, and it c-came at a sacrifice. So he th-theorized the soul would be something with self-sacrifice."

Self-sacrifice... "Like... selflessness, I presume?" You question, and Alphys nods.

"It's said i-if you care for other people s-so much, no other personality trait will c-color your soul. It loses a-all meaning but to c-care for others. This is why it's nearly b-black, but not even that. Black i-is hate, and selflessness c-could lead to bitterness a-and hate if betrayed. It's n-not a positive answer, b-but it's all we have to g-go on."

You shrugged, cracking your knuckles and grinning. "Well, whatever it is, it's me I suppose. Now, who wants to dance with me? I haven't done it much, but I want to improve."

' **Self-sacrifice... that's an interesting one. I would've guessed Apathy, or maybe Hope? Never selflessness or whatever you call it,** ' Chara spoke up for a moment, ready to help you dace, but you mentally waved them off.

'I wanna try this myself. Also, rude. I have too many emotions to be apathetic personally.' You replied, pulling your hair up into a ponytail to keep out of your eyes.

"Might I dance with you dear?" Toriel asked, sounding way too polite. "I am curious of your style, and wish to see... more of it."

She seemed eager, so you nodded. "Of course. However, I don't personally know my style yet, so just advanced warning. The stuff I did with Undyne... was Frisk-inspired." Not a lie, not the truth. Perfect.

"Alright my child." In the background, you thought you felt a soft song begin, and Toriel bowed, holding her hand out for you. You bowed low as well, taking her hand in yours as she pulled you into a waltz.

You recognized the song your souls combined to play, and smiled slightly. Sure it was a slow song, but it wasn't exactly a waltz either. Good for both of you.

_/Wake up! Say good morning to that sleepy person lying next to you/_

 

Clumsily, you followed Toriel's lead in the dance, at least attempting to dance with her. You recall stepping on her foot at least 3 times before you found a bit of a rhythm.

 

_/If there's no one there, then there's no one there, but at least the war is over/_

 

You didn't know if the others could hear this song, but it didn't matter as the dance and music enveloped you. You spun out of Toriel's arms, and did a few ballet spins on your own before coming back to her.

  
_/It's us – yes, we're back again, here to see you through, 'til the days end/_   


 

You twirled around Toriel as she danced with grace and beauty, something you never quite found in yourself.

  
_/And if the night comes, and the night will come, well at least the war is over/_   


  
You felt your soul pulled out of your chest, and saw it's light gray mix with Toriel's surprising orange magic, a softer, warmer shade than Papyrus' but orange nonetheless.

  
_/Lift your head and look out the window_   
_Stay that way for the rest of the day and watch the time go/_   


 

For some reason, while dancing in a modified ballet, you felt as if your hands were missing... something. You wanted something to hold onto, but found yourself seeming ridiculous. What could you hold in your hand while dancing?

  
_/Listen! The birds sing! Listen! The bells ring!_   
_All the living are dead, and the dead are all living_   
_The war is over and we are beginning.../_   


  
You rejoined Toriel, and danced hand in hand with her for a few steps. This felt less like a dance battle and more like... casual dancing with a friend.

  
_/Gridlock on the parkway now, the television man is here to show you how_   
_The channel fades to snow, it's off to work you go, but at least the war is over/_   


 

As you danced, you felt your current thoughts separate from your dancing. It felt more like routine than before, maybe because it was you dancing and not Chara, but it was nice to be able to dance while thinking.

  
_/She's gone, she left before you woke, as you ate last night, neither of you spoke_   
_Dishes, T.V., bed, the darkness filled with dread, but at least the war is over/_   


 

' **Not bad, Y/N. I mean, you're not as great as Frisk, but you're still amazing,** ' Chara complimented you, and you... felt their presence nearby. You knew they were sitting by Frisk somehow but you couldn't see them. You just... felt them.

  
_/Lift your head and look out the window_   
_Stay that way for the rest of the day and watch the time go/_   


 

'Why thank you.' You replied, spinning away from Toriel and doing a leap to compliment it. 

  
_/Listen! The birds sing! Listen! The bells ring!_   
_All the living are dead, and the dead are all living_   
_The war is over and we are beginning.../_   


  
The shorter skeleton sat in the corner watched you dance with grudging respect, admitting you were at least a decent dancer, if not a decent person yet in his eyes.

  
_/We won, or we think we did, when you went away, you were just a kid_   
_And if you lost it all, and you lost it, we will still be there when the war is over/_   


  
Toriel lifted you into the air, and you spread your legs in a nice pose. She led you to the floor, and you were smiling wide as you felt the song coming to an end.

  
_/Lift your head and look out the window_   
_Stay that way for the rest of the day and watch the time go_   
_Listen! The birds sing! Listen! The bells ring!/_   


 

You twirled and danced and it felt... nearly right. You still felt like something was missing... but what?

  
_/All the living are dead, and the dead are all living_   
_The war is over and we are beginning.../_   


 

The song faded to an end, and you were dipped by Toriel. You were panting, you only now realized, but you didn't care. That dancing was... exhilarating. You heard applause from the audience, and turned to say thank you when your eyes caught Sans'. For once... he didn't seem like he wanted you dead. He looked... interested? He seemed to be observing you as if you were a science project or something, and it slightly unnerved you. Hey, at least he wouldn't kill you.

 

Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I actually worked up motivation to write. It may be nearly 10pm and I wrote this chapter so I can get to the next one faster, but whatever. I got it done and did a major reveal!
> 
> Hey look, you're selfless. Yeah, this has been planned from the start, but the other traits Chara mentioned were comments that people guessed with. You both get a high-five!
> 
> Also, get the reference of the salsa dancer and you get a brownie point. Hint, it's another dancetale fanfiction.
> 
> Question for you all: What is your favorite thing to do when sick? No reason for me asking this at all...
> 
> mweh heh heh
> 
> ~Skylar


	8. Sickness squared

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You're feeling like shit. Can the monster crew help get your shit back together?

When you woke up at 3am, your first immediate instinct was to run to the bathroom and vomit violently in the toilet. You wanted so badly to blame Toriel, mostly because her pie tasted horribly coming back up the other way, but you knew she wasn't to blame. You were just horribly sick.

As soon as your vomit session turned up dry, you realized you most likely had a fever as well. You were sweating and shaking, but you felt cold. You collapsed down onto the cold floor of your bathroom, shivering, and sighed. Welp, time to be sick all alone, as had happened often over your life.

You weren't someone to get sick. You hardly ever got colds, and the only time you were ever really sick was one week a year when all the colds and flu you missed out on caught up to you and caused you to feel horribly horribly sick. The first day or 2 was the worst. After that, it slowly faded away into nothing.

But for now, you were forced to lay on the cold floor in your small bathroom, only getting up to dry-heave over the toilet once you ran out of things to puke up. You felt absolutely miserable, shaking and falling into vivid half-dreaming sleeps between vomiting episodes. After one such episode, you realized you'd left your phone in the main room, and by phone you meant some cheap trac-phone you got from the grocery store that you had to buy minutes for every month.

So you crawled out to grab it, so you could at least do  _something_ between vomiting. You grabbed your phone off your couch that you slept on every night, and noticed a few missed calls from Frisk. Oh right, you gave them your number last night. The light was harsh coming from your phone, and you winced, dropping the phone so it faced the floor.

' **Oh you poor, poor thing,** ' Chara teased, probably somewhere to your right. They laugh at your shaky middle finger raised, and you groan. ' **I mean, you're acting pathetic. I'm calling over Frisk for you.** '

"Don't you... fucking dare..." You muttered, holding the phone to your chest. "I can... call them... later..."

' **I'm a ghost, you need someone to actually care for you.** '

"I've... dealt with myself... for a few years now." Speaking of which, you felt the nausea rise up. Unable to crawl to the bathroom, you were forced to basically dry-heave on the floor helplessly.

' **Yeah, I'm calling Frisk.** ' You feel yourself literally dragged out of your body while Chara takes control, like they did during your dance battle with Undyne. They dial Frisk, and you manage to beat Chara out before your sibling answers.

"Heya Frisk... yeah, I... I know... something came... came up. It's uh... called my breakfast... and it belongs to the sewers now..." You chuckled weakly, reduced in a moment to coughing and hacking. "Sorry sibs... I just feel like absolute horse dung."

They hung up as soon as you fell quiet, only making you annoyed as you rolled onto your back. Chara was quietly laughing, and you swore you could see a faint red glow somewhere near you.

' **That is, in fact me. The closer our bond becomes, the more you can see me.** ' Great. Just great. The red blur came closer, helping you distinguish a small form of a child that you recognized from the mirror. They seemed about Frisk's age, if not younger, and... there wasn't much else to make out.

"Great... just what I want to see," You smiled a bit, and were about to say more but your door burst open. Turning, you saw... the monsters. Great, it seems Frisk brought everyone.

"Heya punk! Kid here told us you were sick," Undyne ran over, ruffling your hair immediately. You groaned, curling in on yourself.

"Kinda I guess," You face was already flushed, but you still felt yourself blushing from embarrassment at your new friends having to see you like this.

"THEN LET US COMMENCE A DAY OF HELPING NEW HUMAN FRIEND GET BETTER!"

As Papyrus said, the day was one full of monsters heeding your every beck and call. First, since not all of the monsters could fit in your room, they helped you to their house. The fresh air helped ease your stomach and cool your burning skin, and before you knew it you were curled up on a couch in the monster house.

The day consisted of Toriel mothering you to near-death, something that caused pangs of remembrance in your heart of your own mother, along with Papyrus and Undyne cooking for you. You mainly ate their food to make them feel better, but were quick to throw it up. In your opinion, it was wayyy better than just dry-heaving, so at least it was something.

Then it was night, and you were left to sleep on the couch in the living room, with a thin blanket and some clothes from Undyne, who was closest to your size. It was only gray sweats and some weird anime shirt, but they were a bit too big. All the more comfy for you, you guessed.

While struggling to get comfy enough to sleep, you heard... noises. It sounded like crying, and it was from a room nearby. A glance from Chara showed they were curled up at the end of the couch, hopefully not going to stop you from heading to the door and knocking. The crying immediately stopped, and a shaky voice you couldn't pick out in your sleep-deprived brain spoke up.

"wh-who's this?" It was male, you could guess, but other than that it had no defining features other than being low and shaky. That was probably from the crying however.

"It's Y/N... can I ask what's wrong?" You questioned, leaning up against the door. The silence lasted for a few moments, until the monster on the other side decided to respond.

"shouldn't you be sleeping, kid?" You frowned, not wanting to change the subject.

"Come on... I wanna help you." You pushed the subject a little more, until the door open. You fell back, and looked up into the face of... Sans.

"i don't think there's anything _you_ can do to help me." He replied, and went to shove you back out of his room, but you were persistent. You may be afraid of this guy to an extent, but you wanted to do what Frisk asked and help him however you could.

"Look Sans... I know you can't trust me, probably because of Chara-" You sat up, holding onto the door frame in fear of being shoved out of the room. "-But I want to help you."

He gave you a good, long look. The silence was tense, and could probably be cut by a knife... but eventually he conceded, releasing the door from his bony hands. "alright... i'll bite. what do you think you could help me with?"

"Whatever you were crying about earlier." You shakily leaned up against the wall inside his room. You were a bit taller than him, which was nice, but you were nearly on eye level with each other. There was silence once more as he seemed to plan his words. You would think a guy like this, whom Frisk had called a comedian, could speak on the fly. Stand-up just didn't seem to be his thing to you.

"i wasn't... okay, i'm not gonna lie. i was sad about... things, but they're things you don't have to concern yourself with." You groaned, tugging on his sweater sleeve.

"Please, Sans... You can deny it later, but know I won't tell anyone if you say something to me." You were near giving up on him, the skeleton that was supposed to be your 'frenemy'. But then...

"you know what? fine. i was having nightmares over what that ghostly thing had done to our timeline." He was spilling everything now, and didn't seem about to stop, so you just waited for him to blow out his steam. "and now you're over here saying they want 'forgiveness' and whatever, but you don't know a damn thing they've done. they killed /everyone/. then they completely destroyed our timeline, only to bring it back over and over and  **over** again to continue torment upon us with the deaths of everyone i cared about. and there was  _nothing_ i could do to stop it. no matter... no matter how hard i tried, it didn't matter."

Your concern and... other feelings for the skeleton grew. You didn't know Chara had done this, you didn't think they could ever do something like that. But... he seemed too sincere to deny, and so you nodded in understanding.

"You... watched everything fall apart around you... and no one seems to remember, huh?" You sighed, turning to head to the door. "I'm sorry you went through that... I... can't imagine anything that completely devastating."

He nodded, letting out a sigh. "if you could see from my eyes, you'd understand Chara cannot be trusted. but... go ahead and try. i couldn't change it now if i tried."

"Sans, wait." You turned back to the skeleton, only to see his eyes were dark. You gulped, not wanting to push it, and nodded. "I'm here... if you wanna talk ever? I know we're not 'friends' but... I'm still here for you. Everyone is."

He was quiet for so long, you went to leave his room and head back to the couch, ready to write this all off as a hallucinogenic vision you saw during your sickness, but he sighed. "thanks kid..."

You smiled, closing the door behind you. "Anytime."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"No one is able to guess it seems."

"That the one who really can't be trusted..."

"Is ☼︎✋︎☝︎☟︎❄︎   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY! I have complete the next chapter after wayyy too long of thinking, writing and re-writing. Just an fyi, Sans may seem kinda OOC, but this is my view of him.  
> Also... my wingdings don't seem to be working. :( I'll have to try and fix this later.


	9. Singing Is My Passion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sickness day 2 involves a chat with Alphys, Frisk making you sing, and magic happens.

The next day, you were still sick, but at least you didn't feel nauseous. It was mainly a fever now that caused some pretty sweet hallucinations. A few times you'd reach for something, only to realize it wasn't there a moment later. The monsters were still caring for you, but the thing is they wouldn't let you out of the house. You needed to get out to look for a job, or play at the park, or do anything else to earn some form of money. You weren't used to taking a day off that was unnecessary in your eyes. You'd worked when sick before, why not work now?

Unfortunately, no one else saw it that way. So you were stuck on the couch, constantly under some monsters careful eye. Most of the time you were bored, but nearing evening, when Alphys took the stage, it got interesting.

She took a seat next to you with some popcorn and some weird anime on the tv, but instead of watching it, she turned to you.

"T-tell me about yourself," She said, then rapidly backtracked. "O-only if you w-want to, I-I didn't mean to push you."

You smiled kindly at her, and began to speak. "What do you want to know, Alphys?"

She thought for a moment, then pulled out the notebook you recognized from a few occasions before. "Wh-what are your v-values? H-how do you define your life? A-any key personality t-traits?"

You raised a hand, since she was speaking a bit too fast. "Calm down a bit Alphys, we have plenty of time to chat. Now... my values first?"

She nodded, and so you began. "I value independence. My whole life I've had to be an adult, so I can be quite stubborn for people offering me things, which is why I'd much rather be in the park singing right now instead of here sick. Yet I also value my family, who is mainly Frisk. Mom was there in the beginning, but after she died it was an abusive and neglecting father. I define my family as those I'm willing to protect and care for, so mostly Frisk.

"My life is defined by my values, and also a need to be different than my upbringings. I want to care for others and help them, not just sit around and watch, berating people when they're already down. I don't just wanna be kind to people. I wanna help the weak and unsteady with everything I am. Even if I don't like someone, I'm not going to be mean for no reason. I'm going to try and try again to gain approval from people, so I know they're watching my back when I'm watching theirs.

"Finally, my key personality traits. I suppose you could say I'm nice to people, and very determined in my ways. If someone needs it, I'll be brave for them, and I try to stay true to myself. I'm patient with others, and I keep pushing on even when it's only going to get harder. I think that's about it."

Finally finished with my answer, Alphys was just staring at you, pencil in her hand and once-blank notebook paper covered in writing. Her expression was one of confusion, and... awe?

"W-wow... I c-can't believe it." Hurriedly she flipped through pages and pages of writing in some odd language, until she landed on a page with 7 different hearts, or souls, with different colors.

"Hey, I recognize those. I've done research on how you guys define people." You remark, peering over at the paper. 

"Ac-cording to what you t-told me, your s-soul... is quite u-unique, even m-more than I originally thought!" She pointed out a few traits. "You seem t-to have exhibited all of these t-traits except justice, and m-maybe even a bit of that! I-I need to do more r-research... if you'll let me of course!" She seemed so excited... how could you say no?

"What do you need me to do?" You asked, and she squealed.

"Th-there's tons of things! I-I've gotta prepare!" Her face was full of glee as she scribbled away, planning and plotting for how she was gonna test your soul. You just laughed and continued watching the anime until it was... Frisk's turn.

They sat by your side and looked up at you with pleading eyes.

"Yeah sibs?" You questioned warily, and they grinned, seeming evil.

"Can you sing for me Y/N? Pleeeeeeeease?" They begged. You were a sucker for their puppy eyes, and were not afraid to sing, so you nodded.

"I don't have my guitar, so this is acapella. Don't judge my voice." You cleared your throat, thinking for a moment, then deciding on a song. It was one you'd written for them while they were... away, and it meant something special. 

The music echoed in your mind, and you took in a deep breath before singing.

_ /Short steps, deep breath _

_ Everything is alright/ _

You smiled, the music growing more clear for you as you sang on.

_ /Chin up, I can't _

_ Step into the spotlight/ _

You held out your hands a bit and mocked playing a piano, not paying much attention to your surroundings. As you sang, Frisk's eyes widened in awe, and they texted a few people to gather around.

_ /She said, "I'm sad," _

_ Somehow without any words _

_ I just stood there _

_ Searching for an answer/ _

You didn't notice, but around you gathered the monsters that lived with Frisk. They watched in awe as you sang and faked playing the piano with ease.

_ /When this world is no more _

_ The moon is all we'll see/ _

Your throat may hurt, and your head is definitely in pain, but somehow the music made it all shrink to nothing.

_ /I'll ask you to fly away with me _

_ Until the stars all fall down/ _

You only started paying attention when a light gray glow filled the room. You recognized it from when you danced... so why was it happening now? Your thoughtsmade you lose track, and you stumbled a bit in the song, making the glow vanish. Shaking your head, you continued on anyways.

_ /They empty from the sky _

_ But I don't mind _

_ If you're with me, then everything's alright/ _

The glow slowly spilled back in, and with it joined the sounds of a piano you'd stopped playing. It felt like the music was coming from you... but that couldn't happen. Right?

_ /Why do my words _

_ Always lose their meaning?/ _

With your singing, you could hear faint humming from Frisk, who was sat next to you still and watching in awe. You took their hand in yours, and the gray was joined by a bright red glow, most likely from their soul.

_ /What I feel, what I say _

_ There's such a rift between them/ _

On your other side sat Papyrus, whom had sat by you on the couch. You smiled at him, continuing the soft and sweet melody.

_ /He said, "I can't _

_ Really seem to read you."/ _

With those lyrics you glanced to Sans, who was watching, seemingly intrigued by all this. Out of the corner of your eye you saw Alphys taking notes once more, as she seemed to do way too much.

_ /I just stood there _

_ Never know what I should do/ _

You pulled Frisk closer, into a hug, and slipped into the final chorus.

_ /When this world is no more _

_ The moon is all we'll see/ _

The room now looked like there was some form of a dance party, as the colors were everywhere and shining on everything. It was... spectacular.

_ /I'll ask you to fly away with me _

_ Until the stars all fall down/ _

The song was nearly over, and you could tell by the slow fall in the piano and the tone of the lyrics.

_ /They empty from the sky _

_ But I don't mind/ _

You turned to Frisk, and as the colors faded, you sang directly to them.

_ /If you're with me, then everything's alright/ _

The music was on it's final breath, the colors now nearly gone, and all you had left to do was finish the words. This was fun, but it was time to return to reality.

_ /If you're with me, then everything's alright/ _

The song was over, and... you were out of breath. Everything was back to normal, and it seemed everyone else was as stunned as you. You laughed a bit, ruffling Frisk's hair, and released them. You didn't want to know about that yet.

Everything was okay. You didn't want this peaceful moment to be ruined by anything. You saw Chara nearby, standing behind the couch next to Frisk, and you winked at them. They nodded, and smiled softly. You never wanted this moment to end.

But all good things come to a close. It may seem like you're safe... but something dark lurks in every corner. Something terrifying, that could ruin everything for the characters.

Something with...

...

...

...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy. This chapter is out pretty quick, probably not my best work but I like it. 
> 
> To the readers, I am excited for this to happen. Something big is coming, something you won't expect. The one behind it is...
> 
> Well, if I told you, it would ruin all the fun now wouldn't it?
> 
> Sometimes everything can be turned on you, everything you stand for used against you... everything ruined in an instant. Be wary readers. Be wary indeed.
> 
> ((5 brownie points to whoever can determine the true villain here))


	10. Anything but you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A glance at a flower, the true mind behind everything, and a seemingly random occurrence.

"Hmmm...."

The flower stared up at the distant hole from his place among the golden flowers. The moon was out, the stars shining brightly. But... he didn't feel anything. No awe or amazement or... any emotion. He had never been able to.

At the sound of footsteps echoing in the cavern behind him, he sighed, lowering his face to stare at the small amount of grass that had managed to grow. He grumbled to himself as the human took a seat.

The human was a girl, one who'd shown up a few times. She had long red hair and shining blue eyes filled with longing and sadness. "Hey Flowey," she muttered, not looking at the golden flower.

"Well well well, Skylar's back! What, you here to  _torture_ me further?" The flower turned to her with a savage grin on his face. "Here to finally  **do it** and kill me?"

"Of course I'm not." She replied, setting down another black rose, the same as the ones she'd placed every week. 

"You know you'll never see her again." The flower laughed at the girl's idiocy. "She's gone, and never coming back!"

"I know." She sighed, looking down at her lap. "I can't help but to miss her, y'know?"

The flower's expression faltered. Yeah... he knew how that was. It was the same thing he had known ever since he found he was alive. He missed  _them_.

"Ash... was my best friend." She pulled out a picture of her and another human. The other human was a girl wearing some glasses and holding a notebook, while Skylar had a toy sword at her side. "She fell down here... and..."

"-And you miss her. Yeah... I know, you tell me every week." Flowey grumbled, looking away from the mourning human. He was never good with emotions even when he had them, so now he was even worse.

"I can't help but to hope she might be alive somehow..."

"She's not. I saw her be taken in and killed by the king." Flowey's mind flashed back to the human, glasses and notebook torn away from her, black hair tangled and bloody from previous wounds. That one hadn't been able to reset either. No human he'd met could do that but Frisk, and Frisk was never going to reset. This girl could only look up as the king struck her down, ripping her soul from her body and storing it away.

"Her soul could be..." Skylar sighed, already knowing protesting this fact was pointless. Ashbel had died a while ago, leaving her best friend alone. If only Sky had gone down after Ashbel, instead of going for help. The humans were all useless, saying her friend was long gone... too bad they were right.

"Listen human. You can't do anything about it. The best thing to do is move on." The girl nodded, smiling a little bit. This was the most Flowey had ever said to her, or at least the nicest he'd ever been to her.

"Thanks Flowey..." She rubbed at her eyes, and sighed. "Have you ever lost anyone?"

Flowey scoffed, looking away. "Yeah, once. But it's not something I talk about."

"I understand..." Skylar stood from her spot, brushing off the dirt on her jeans. "I... should be going."

"Chara." Flowey bit back any other words form spilling out. He didn't know why this human was so easy to talk to, but... he needed to say something. "They were my best friend. They died to the humans."

Skylar thought for a bit, then smiled. "You must be going through a lot. I'm sorry."

"Whatever." Flowey turned away, and heard the human walk away. So he sat there, watching the sky shift above.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Skylar arrived back on the surface to see nothing had changed. The view from the mountain was the same, just as wonderful as always. She smiled a bit, reminiscing on her chat with Flowey. Her soul was lit within her chest, a dark blue color to show integrity.

Her blue sweater was snugly tied around her waist, which she swiftly untied and pulled on, as the evening air was chill. She hid herself under the hood, and made her way down the path and to her home.

As she walked, she thought about everything that had happened the past few years. Monsters came up to the surface, she found out Ashbel had... died, and she had lost her family. Fan-freaking-tastic. She supposed it wasn't her fault she lost her family. They had kicked her out of the house for... well, being a girl. She was born as someone she wasn't comfortable with, and was ditched for being transgender.

Shaking away the memory of being left, she made her way to the bookstore, Mystical Memories. It was where she lived, thanks to the kind owner named Gracen. When she came to her favorite store the night she was abandoned, Gracen immediately took her in and gave her a home. For that, she was thankful.

Walking into the store, she saw the sign reading closed, and used her key to open up the store. She made her way inside, locking the door behind her, and headed to her room in the back, which contained only a suitcase, a bed, and a desk. She sighed, taking a seat on the bed, and grabbed her notebook.

Inside were frantic notes, written in shaky handwriting. It was hardly readable unless you were Skylar, who was able to make out the words easily. ' ** _Entry number 17: Dark, yet darker. The darkness keeps growing! The shadows cutting deeper. Photon readings... negative. This next experiment seems very... very... interesting. ...what do you two think?'_**

She hadn't written it herself. She didn't know how it was in this notebook, but it was the same way with the entire notebook, filled with these mysterious entries. They were never in order, but they only went up to entry 18 so far.  _ **'The flower's gone.'**_ It may not seem to make sense currently, but Skylar was still anxious. She didn't quite understand why these were appearing for her, or why her dreams were constantly filled with darkness. 

She figured... maybe it was because she knew her best friend was dead. Or maybe it was because she was alone, with only Gracen as family. Whatever it was... she needed to get out of this place and find someone who knew. The feeling of being clueless... she hated it. So she shut the book, and made her way out of the store, relocking the door, and headed out in search of someone who knew.

She was brought to the door of a restaurant named Grillby's. Figuring this was the best place to start, she walked in.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Everything is falling into place. Minds being mislead, people being naive... my power growing.**

**It's only a matter of time before everything falls apart. I've counted on every variable, chosen the perfect puppet... someone easily manipulated, and easily disposable.**

**My first step... destroy the one who betrayed me. The flower will feel fear for the first time as I strike him down, tearing off each individual petal slowly, causing him pain beyond what he can comprehend.**

**Then? That dumb smiley trashbag. He's _in my way._**

**Then each and every monster, human and robot will be completely obliterated, giving me the strength to destroy this world. In the end... it will be me and them.**

**Then Frisk will see the only thing worth it in this world is _power_.**

**After that, all that's left is to reset this world and begin it again. Next time, Asriel will LISTEN TO ME and DO WHAT I SAY!**

**If you haven't already figured it out... who I am, what I am...**

**It's your proud partner, your best friend!**

~~**Chara** ~~ **Dreemurr**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh? What's this?  
> Were you looking for your precious author? Well... she's not here right now. She's never coming back.  
> She was going to give me redemption, something I don't deserve. So I decided to take over this worthless story, and make it my own.  
> But...  
> for some...  
> strange reason...  
> I don't think I wrote...  
> That middle bit...  
> could it...  
> be...?


	11. Things fall right into place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dreams, paths, and discovery.

_You were shaking a bit too much for a_ _situation like this. You didn't mean to do it, you promise! Yet... here you were, over a pile of dust. Sitting neatly atop the pile was a red scarf. Tears slipped out of your eyes as your body moved on._

_' **Keep moving. Keep killing. Gain more, more, more LOVE until they're all gone!** ' Their voice echoed in your head, ordering your body against your will. This had to be a mistake, it couldn't be real._

_You found yourself next in Waterfall, easily dodging all the spears Undyne threw your way. One more hit, and she would be gone for good! You hardly felt anything except the need to move forward, get these pests out of your way, gain more and more until you were a god._

_One stab and she melted. You knew by now Alphys had gotten everyone out, but you didn't care. Everyone left would die by your hand, be killed over and over and over again. The demon possessing your body wanted more, so of course you had to feed it._

_Mettaton had easily gone. One tap and he had blown up. Moving forward, that flower was a coward. He kept begging for mercy, what a pest. Next time you saw him you would tear each petal off slowly, torturing him into nothing. Then this world would be erased._

_The smiley trashbag was nothing. He was child's play, beat after only a few tries. Too predictable, too easy to kill. Crying over his brother before he dusted, how weak. He didn't understand what it meant, the power you were filled with. He may have spoken of anomalies, but he didn't know their true power._

_You stood before them, clothing covered in dust, empty but for the LOVE you had gained. These memories, visions, flooded your mind, once more bringing you into a breakdown at the feet of the demon who'd done this. You knew they would never change, their hate would only grow. They wanted you to erase the world... so you did._

_Oblivion was only ended by your begging, pleading, wanting this reset. Yet... things change. You didn't vanish first this time... Frisk did._

_They weren't the first killer. You were._

_You ruined everything._

_They wanted revenge._

_Since when were you the one in control?_

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

Skylar entered the bar to a lone waiter tending to a skeleton monster sitting up at the bar. She looked around for others, but saw no one. Even so, the bartender might know someone who could help her. So she headed to the bar, and took a seat.

"Would you... like to order?" The bartender, who was a literal flame, was in front of her. Skylar shook her head, and instead opened up the notebook.

"I actually came here for help." She took a deep breath, and didn't notice the skeleton nearby watching her. "For the past week or so, I've been having a hard time sleeping. When I do get to sleep, it seems as if something... possesses me, and writes in this notebook. I've tried taking it to others, but no one can seem to read it but me. I was hoping maybe there would be a monster able to translate?"

The bartender looked at the scribbled passages, and sighed. "I've only... seen one monster speak in this... dialect. No one has... spoken in WingDings for... years."

"i can read it." The girl jumped, and turned to the only other monster in the bar. He leaned over her shoulder and read while she was distracted by the odd skeleton. He wore a blue hoodie, some black sweats, and tennis shoes. Skylar knew every monster had some form of dance, and she'd have to guess he liked hip-hop.

"so you've just woken up to them here?" She nodded, and he sighed, mumbling under his breath something she could make out as "dammit old man, why her?"

"Can you... help me? It's starting to get freaky, and I wanna know why it's happening." She bit her lower lip, a seemingly common habit as told by the bite marks and scars around that area. The skeleton thought for a moment, his seemingly permanent smile not as genuine. After a long moment, he nodded.

"yeah, i can take you to someone who can help." He hopped down from the bar, and the redhead was quick to follow, taking the journal with her. They left the bar, the waiter cleaning up a spilled bottle of ketchup. Without any warning, the skeleton grabbed her hand and teleported away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

' **She's gone. Where could she have gone? No matter... my plan will still go off without a hitch, even if that insufferable author has vanished. I will win, and Frisk will see there is only one path, one with no mercy, none of their so called 'friendship'. There is only the path of POWER.** '

 


	12. Lost control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I am in control now.

You hated yourself for not seeing it earlier.

They had  _used_ you, and it felt completely terrible. You had lost control over everything, and could only watch as they gained the power you had.

' **Haven't had a body for a while...** ' They mused, their twisted voice spilling from your mouth. You felt sick, only able to watch as they stumbled about, relearning how to walk and move otherwise properly. ' **I've gotta say, I missed you Y/N. You were my partner... but you gave it all up and let _them_ take control. Now... I'll have to finish the job myself and reset. Only, of course, after killing every monster, man, woman and child in this wretched town.** ''

'NO!' You shouted, but even to you your voice was weak. They laughed at your pitiful cry for help, and walked through the front door of your apartment.

' **No? Huh... how _funny_. I didn't think  _you_ were the one in control here.** ' You were outside now, and the knife was cold in your hand. They walked past any humans, but were quick to lash out and fight the monsters, dusting them and scattering it into the wind. You wanted to cry as the LV went up, your EXP rising rapidly. Froggits, Whimsums, everything was dying at your hands-no,  _their hands_. 

Soon, covered in dust, you stood right at their front door. A trail of dust was behind you, and soon they would  _all be gone, and it would happen over and over and over again._

You knocked on the door. It wasn't you  _Frisk I'm sorry I'm sorry sorry sorrysorrysorry-_

They answered the door, smile immediately fading. They went to say something, but couldn't get a word out before you lunged, eyes glowing red and bloodlust in your SOUL.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The redhead stumbled as they appeared at the opening into the underground. The barrier had been gone for some time, and Skylar had never seen it anyway, but glancing at her skeleton companion she could see a hint of nostalgia in his eyes.

"welp. time to find some answers." He started to move ahead, and the girl chased after him. For a short skeleton, he could move freaking  _fast_.

"Wait! What-what are we even looking for?" She searched around the caves, hoping to spot a flash of yellow that would signify Flowey being here, but saw nothing. The skeleton kept moving forward, a strange determined look in his eyes, and she could only follow.

They travelled through the whole cave, Skylar listing off the names she'd given places as she went along.  _Kingdom, Tech land, Glow place._ They stopped in glow place, and the skeleton took a strangely convoluted path the redhead couldn't hope to remember.

They eventually stopped... in front of a wall. Skylar was confused as the skeleton turned to her, and she frowned down at him. "What... exactly are we doing here?"

"he should be here. the one who wrote those things," He explained. At her even more confused look, he elaborated. "if you wanna know, call for him. ask him, something. trust me."

She raised an eyebrow at him, and he just turned back to the wall. Skylar faced the wall as well, and took a deep breath. She searched through her muddled memories of dreams, and a name rose to mind. It was a name she'd never heard before, yet... she knew it was right.

"W.D. Gaster, where are you?" She called out, and it echoed through the hall. A long moment passed, and Sans sighed. 

"guess it... didn't work." He went to turn away, but the girl noticed something. The wall shifted, and suddenly there was a gray door, standing out against the glowing dark blue walls she'd just been seeing.

"Look! It worked!" She was smiling wide, feeling drawn to the door. The skeleton went to say something, but the redhead turned him out in favor of opening the door and heading in.


	13. Strike back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'M BACK BICHES

_'Dark... yet Darker...'_

Skylar shivered, the door closing behind her, leaving her no exit from the gray room she had discovered. She was... scared, but didn't exactly know from what.

_'I have continued my research on the magic of SOULS'_

She took a few steps... and her head hurt. Images flashed by, faster than she could process, and she struggled to stay on her feet at the striking pain. She placed a hand on the wall and felt a strange pulse, like a heartbeat. It was irregular, but somehow soothing. Placing a hand to her chest, she felt it was syncing up with her own heartbeat.

_'I have chosen a vessel for the determination'_

With a strangled sigh, she continued on down the gray path, towards the end of the room, where a black form was hunched over. This was the thing filling the room with whispers, muttered journal entries and research notes Skylar recognized from her dreams.

_'What do you two think?'_

She continued forward, moving closer and closer to the figure, only comforted by the fact that she knew the other skeleton should be nearby. He wouldn't just leave her here, right?

_'The flower's gone'_

She stopped at the end of the hallway, seeing now the room the black form was in was larger than she'd first thought. It looked... endless. It was constantly expanding, and her mind could barely believe the never-ending gray. She turned to the figure in the center of it all, and saw something that mad her sad.

It was once a skeleton, one that seemed to resemble the one that brought her here in a way. His smile was broken, and he had several other cracks on his skull. Yet... she could see something else written on his face. Hope.

"Why are you here?" She asked, then asked herself that. It was a simple question, but it still asked a lot.

_'I am not here, or there, but merely scattered. I exist everywhere, yet nowhere.'_

"How do I help you?"

_'You once had control of everything. Now you are here. Regain your control, and I can be saved.'_

"I don't understand!" Even as she said that, she did understand. She knew exactly what was wrong, and she knew how to fix it. She  _had_ to fix it. She reached out for whatever it was taking it all away, and pulled. Into existence, her waiting arms, appeared a sketch book and a perfectly sharpened pencil. She grinned, and turned to look at the readers.

"Hey guys, I'm back! Look, I escaped! And now... it's time to change everything." I grin, preparing to write something down as I speak more. "I lost control for a while there, so sorry about that. I'm back now, and ready to end this story arc and create the one I'd imagined from the beginning."

I turned to the old scientist, and wrote down a few notes. "Alright G, let's get out of here. We've got some monsters to save."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, some of you may be confused about what the hell is going on right now, but it'll all be explained soon. Just know that I escaped the role I was placed in, and can now continue on and help put this story back on track. Yay!  
> ~Skylar


	14. Questions are answered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> RESET
> 
> CONTINUE

'Hey guys. So I managed to sneak away for a bit, and have a quick bit to explain things for you all.'

I wrote in the journal, whose words only the readers could see now, and glance up a moment to watch Sans interact with his dad. I smile a bit before returning to my work, wanting to finish off some things so everything could return to normal.

'Some of you are probably really freaking confused.  _Sky, what about that Ashbel character? How are you in the story? How dare you self-insert?_ I know, I'm a really bad author. I haven't been able to reply to comments since Chara took over as well, so sorry about that.

'To answer your questions... I'm as confused as you are. I'm the author, and I'm not supposed to self-insert, I know that. But... I had to do it. I was losing control of my story, things were happening I hadn't planned for-' I take a moment to glare in the direction where Chara is wreaking havoc- 'and basically i was just bad. This was supposed to be a cute story where you, the reader, and Sans could probably fall in love. But... I'm gonna have to do some re-writing, which means...

'Yeah, that's right. After this conflict, there's gonna have to be a reset. Which means someone has to go underground and free everyone. It's gonna be a whole new story, a journey through the dancetale underground where hopefully things can be fixed, right from the source.

'But... that means I'll need your help. I'm not sure yet who's gonna have to go underground, but maybe your comments could help that. Should we return Frisk, the true pacifist child, or... maybe you wanna go down there? I suppose I could go, but I know too much... and it uh... it wouldn't be fun for me.

'Right, that reminds me. My character that was described to you all was a trans girl whose best friend had fallen a while ago and was one of the souls that was taken by the monsters. Well, I think it has something to do with I was trying to be sneaky, so before I came into this story I wrote myself a character quick.'

"yo kid, you ready?" I jump a bit, and turn to the skeleton in his blue hoodie. His smile on his face seems so much more genuine than when I first met him, it brings a brighter smile to my face.

"Yeah, totally. Let's finish this." I close up the journal, and pause. "Actually... I have one more thing I need to do down here. You two hurry ahead, I'll catch up."

Sans gives me a sideways glance, but nods anyways. "okay kid. c'mon dad, let's kick some demon butt."

They shortcut away, and I run through the rest of the underground. I may just be some other written-in character, but there's one last person I need to warn before I really go through with my plan.

"Flowey!" I was breathing heavily as I skidded to a stop in the golden flower room where Flowey and I had talked numerous times. Being here was a sad reminder of everything I thought I had lost, but in reality... I wasn't even a part of this world.

The golden flower turned to me, sneer on his face, but he paused upon really seeing me. "What are YOU doing back here? You just left!"

"I need your help, Flowey."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

' _Y/N Please!'_ Frisk cried as you lunged again, knocking some more dust into the air. Alphys, the only other one to be with Frisk at the time, had been struck down with no problems. What a weak scientist.

' **Oh Frisk... why would you ever think that weakling could be me?'** Chara grinned from your face, and you struggled to regain control, trying to stop them from killing Frisk, anyone but Frisk.

"Ch-Chara?" Frisk's voice was soft, and seemingly filled with pain. They were reminded of their old partner, and Chara laughed a cold, harsh laugh.

 **'Ding ding ding, we have a winner!'** Frisk hesitated a moment, and that was all Chara needed to lunge upon their prey. Frisk was knocked down, and Chara raised the knife to strike when...

Music. Music Chara never wanted to hear again filled the room. Before they could turn, some dark blue force threw them into a wall, knocking them dizzy a moment. They looked up to see... him.

"heya. so, it seems you've been busy." Sans's eye was a fiery blue, and his anger seemed hardly controllable. Behind him was someone you'd never seen before, a taller skeleton in a lab coat, cracks littering across his face and body. He seemed nearly as pissed off as Sans, and that made Chara grin.

"Sans, no!" Frisk jumped... between you and Sans. No, Frisk, let him kill you! It might get right of Chara if you just let him do it! "It's not Y/N, not really! Please, you can't hurt them!"

Sans seemed frustrated, glaring at you, but before he could do anything, I burst through the door.

"Glad I showed up in time." I smiled a bit, nodding to you in recognition, and you noticed a vine curling around my arm. From around my left ear, Flowey came through my hair. You were confused, and you could tell Chara had some idea of what was happening.

 **'You. You meddlesome author!'** Chara snarled, struggling against Sans's magic, but I just laughed a bit.

"That I am. Now if you'll all hold still, this will be over soon. Don't worry." I wrote in my notebook, and everything began to fade in front of you. Everything morphed and darkened, and memories were seemingly erased from your mind. Your last feeling was a regain of control over your body, and a smile stretching across your face.

"Don't worry. I promise everything will be alright."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I have returned from the void, as you can see, and have finally gotten a chance to fix this whole mess. The main reason I went with a reset instead of continuing is the amount of monsters killed by you/Chara. I hope to see you all in the reset!  
> Remember, vote for whether it'll be you or Frisk in the sequel, I'm interested to see your decisions.


End file.
